Celeste Ennes
Appearance Celeste keeps her dark brown hair pulled back in a tight bun at all times, more often than not accompanied by a stern glare. Her typical outfit consist of a slightly altered version of current Aundairian fashion. The most common changes are split sleeves and buttons or clasps near the shoulders to allow her to easily get the sleeves out of her way. In addition she always has at least some of her tools on a belt at all times. Her armor is heavily modified standard issue Aundairian army with a harness attached containing a large number of switches, dials, and several glowing crystals. Her warhammer is also similarly modified dials and switches running along its shaft. She is always accompanied by her construct Crys. The construct is of a humanoid build with a slight feminine shape, those with sharp eyes might notice that it has a passing similarity to Celeste herself. The various plates that make up Crys are edged in intricate scroll work. History Celeste was born to a family of merchants who specialized in minor magical items and resources. Growing up she constantly played with items she found around the shop, sparking her lifelong love of artifice. By in large she had a normal childhood; loving family, middle class lifestyle, no real hardships. While finishing her schooling at the Arcane Congress she was swept up in the wave of patriotism that tends hit the young in times of war and after graduation enlisted into the Aundairian army. She served for roughly two decades doing her best to keep as many alive as she could. Eventually she became jaded at the amount of casualties all sides of the conflict were causing. Instead of just retiring, cursing the folly of the War she decided that she would what she could to save as many as possible. She decided that oddly enough the best way to keep as many alive with her skills was to train the next generation of those that'd be fighting in the War, teaching them to limit casualties regardless of who they are. Leveraging her experience in the War she was easily able to gain a position at the Arcane Congress training combat artificers. She quickly proved to be an apt if demanding instructor. Here she also was afforded the opportunity to experiment rekindling her love of artificing, particularly creating constructs. In time she started specializing in training battle smiths, teaching them to put their creations and occasionally themselves in danger's way to save others. She met her husband Marc, a Khoravar writer of mild renown, at an academic conference. He was instantly smitten by her and she found him very amusing and not to bad on the eyes. People found them a bit of an odd couple at first but they tended to balance out the others extremes. In 960 she gave birth to a daughter, Gwen, who would grow up to be a very skilled tailor. About four years after the War she was approached by an agent of the Aundair government about an offer to join an expedition into the Mournlands. They were looking for an expert in artifice that wouldn't slow anyone down and was loyal to the nation. Her years in the Arcane Congress training battle smiths easily filled all the criteria. The expedition went off largely without issue, but she found some scrap of Cannith knowledge that bored itself into her brain. On her return she started digging deeper in Cannith designs, in particular Warforged. A few years later she was approached about another expedition into the Mournlands which she eagerly joined. This trip did not go as smooth as the last one, over half of the party was lost trying to make it back. Celeste came back from it changed, whatever curiosity she had turned into a full obsession. When not teaching she locked herself in her lab tinkering on her constructs and looking over maps of old Cyre. This new obsession drove a rift between her and her family, eventually reaching a point that her husband couldn't take it more and left. Over a year after returning she approached the Arcane Congress with a proposal for another expedition into the Mournlands, believing she had pinpointed a Cannith site that could contain tech that could revolutionize the world. Still stinging from the last failure they denied her proposal. Frustrated by the Congress's shortsightedness she decided she would set up her own expedition. Within a few months she thought had everything ready for what she hoped would what put her name into the history books. Unfortunately for her, in her eagerness she did not do her due diligence when hiring the crew. If she had looked into them she would have found they were a criminal outfit.Even more unfortunately for Celeste they were arrested prior to the expedition and word made it back to the Arcane Congress that one of the faculty was found associating criminal. Wanting to preserve their image but also acknowledging the years of service Celeste had given the Congress sent her an ultimatum. Retire and we will use our contacts to refer you to the Wayfinders or be fired and blacklisted from any significant work in Aundair. She took them up on their offer. The Last War Celeste served in Aundairian army for close to two decades in the early part of the Last War, mainly on the Karrnathi front.On the battlefield she earned a reputation for putting herself in harm's way to cover rescues and retreats. The heavy losses in the war weighed heavy on her, particularly those that she watched die in front of her. After she retired from the army she acquired a position at the Arcane Congress helping to train the next generation of battle smiths joining the army. She drilled into her students that it was their duty to save as many lives as they could. Her hope was by insuring there were others looking out for their comrades first and killing the enemy second more would have the opportunity to return home. Invitation After word had made it back to the Congress that Celeste was listed as a associate of an a criminal group the administrators decided they needed to protect the institution's image. However just firing a long time professor would raise questions and she wasn't near the time when a Khoravar would normally look to retire. It was decided that they would use their contacts in the Wayfinder Foundation to arrange for an invitation to be sent to her provided she retired without complaint. She was already known for her two expeditions into the Mournlands so no one would be surprised that she would seek to join the Wayfinders. As an added benefit the Congress would gain some prestige by have a former faculty member be a part of the famous Wayfinders. Experience Roughly two decades of combat experience in the War has left her with good instincts for life and death situations. While the decades of teaching may have filled the edge of her raw combat skills it has given her ample time to perfect her skill in artifice, in particular being well known for her skill in both constructs and augmenting combat gear. Two full expeditions into the Mournlands and planning one that never managed to get off the ground has given her insight into what is needed when going into the unknown. During the second expedition earned her a reputation for a cool head under threat. A sudden living spell attacked the camp at night at took out a large number of the leaders. She was able to quickly organize the survivors and put together a solid defense preventing even more casualties. Motivation She is fascinated with finding lost Cannith knowledge in the Mournlands, believing there is knowledge hidden in there that can benefit the world. She also views exploring as an excellent test for her creations and hopes for the new challenges inspire more creations. In particular, she wants to create new tools that will protect and save lives. Future Goals She wants another go at exploring the Mournlands, specifically trying to find the research facility she found references to during her second expedition. Her big overarching goal is to save others with artifice, see Secrets. Secrets Found a reference to a Cannith facility that was researching the nature and cause of the ensoulment of the Warforged. She wants to find this site to see if there is any way to transfer a soul into a construct body. Her goal is to find away to transfer those that are dying into a new body. Her daughter sends her new clothing in the latest Aundairian fashion that she makes with modifications to make working in them easier. These are among her most treasured possessions. Enemies No real enemies, though she may have ruffled some of the other professors' feathers. Personality Personality Traits * Is prone to impromptu lectures * Often comes off as cold and distant * Will take any opportunity given to examine and interesting piece of artifice * Ideals * That artifice has more potential to improve and save lives than it does to end them. Bonds * She cares deeply for her daughter and her ex-husband, she viewed her ignoring of them when consumed by her research as her biggest sacrifice. Now she believes that she is protecting both of their reputations by distancing herself from them. * The losses of life in the Last War hit her deeply and drove her to do everything she can to protect lives. Strengths * She has amazing focus and drive. If she wants something done nothing is going to stop her from pursuing it. * Immense knowledge of artifice, particularly constructs Flaws * Prone to ignoring anything that does not help her achieve whatever her current goal is, often including her own needs. Completed Missions None yet Crunch XP & Gold Log Inventory * Scale mail (Enhanced Defense Infusion) * Warhammer (Enhanced Weapon Infusion) * Light Crossbow and 20 bolts * Thieves Tools * Smith's Tools * Tinker's Tools * Jeweler's Tools * Dungeoneer's Pack - Crowbar, hammer, 10 pitons, 10 torches, tinderbox, 10 days rations, water skin, 50 ft of hempen rope Character Sheet * Celeste Ennes * Crys (Steel Defender) Category:Characters